SOUTH AMBOY, NJ–On Monday night, GMC Hoops traveled over to the South Amboy Middle/High School to see action from the Raritan Bay Summer League for the eight time this season. It was the first night of action from the fifth week of action in this league. It seemed like yesterday that the league was just starting up, but a lot has transpired since then. The site arrived to see the final game of the night as Monroe took on the Old Bridge Warriors in a contest from the 7th and 8th Grade Division.
Monroe Holds Off Late Rally To Defeat Old Bridge Warriors, 36-31
Both of these teams entered the day at 2-3, and in the middle of the pack in the 7th and 8th Grade Division. Monroe appeared to have this game won by a comfortable margin, but the Old Bridge Warriors showed some tenacity and fortitude with a late rally to make things close at the end of a 36-31 Falcons victory. Monroe had a 15-10 lead with less than four minutes to go in the first half. The Purple Birds could have taken the lead by more, but missed two foul shots at the 2:00 mark. The Old Bridge Warriors then got a score followed by a one of two showing from the line to close to within two at 15-13. Monroe then got one of two from the line to get the point back at the 1:00 mark, and made it a five point, 18-13 halftime lead.
The second half started off with Tyler Salzer passing to Kenny Lepping for a shot attempt that drew a foul. Lepping made the first, but missed the second free throw. Salzer came to the rescue though by getting the offensive rebound and follow for a 21-13 lead with 19:01 remaining. Cameron Browne then got into the act with an offensive rebound and follow up a Lepping miss for a 23-13 Monroe lead at the 17:38 mark. Browne then followed that up with a layup off a fast break for a 25-13 lead with 16:28 to play. Ryan Turco added a three pointer from the right wing for a 13-0 run since the 1:30 mark of the first half, and a 28-13 lead. Old Bridge didn’t give up though. Following a timeout at the 16:03 mark, Chris Pozo got the Warriors going with a high arching jump shot that was just inside the arc for a 28-15 Monroe lead at the 14:28 mark.
Pozo’s three sparked an 18-8 rally over the final 14:28 that nearly tied the game. After one of two free throws made by Browne at the 13:01 mark for a 29-15 lead, Mike Torres connected on a three at the 11:50 mark for a 29-18 Monroe lead. The Falcons got a field goal for a 31-18 lead, but Old Bridge connected on a three by Sean Olsen at the 5:36 mark for a 31-21 Monroe lead, and while the Falcons were scoreless for 4:19, the Warriors got another big shot from Pozo on a three at the 2:36 mark, a trey by Q at the 1:42 mark for a 31-27 Monroe lead. Seemingly on its heels, Monroe had to come up with a big score, and it did. Thanks to a very kind roll, the Falcons got a layup at the 1:15 mark for a 33-27 lead. Browne added one of two from the line for a 34-27 lead with 57.3 seconds to play.
Justin Ramos gave the Old Bridge Warriors some hope with an offensive rebound and follow at the 40.3 second mark for a 34-29 Monroe lead, but after a Falcons timeout with 14.7 seconds to go, Ryan Turco sealed the victory with two free throws at the 7.7 second mark. Will Denneny wrapped up the scoring with a field goal in the waning moments as Monroe came away with the 36-31 win. With the victory, Monroe improved to 3-3 on the summer while Old Bridge dropped its second straight, and is 2-4 on the season.
| Team | 1 | 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe (3-3) | 18 | 18 | 36 |
| Old Bridge Warriors (2-4) | 13 | 18 | 31 |